A BOGUS bride and groom who were arrested at the altar moments before their sham marriage have both been jailed for 18 months.

Nigerian Abraham Akinola, 32, and Roqsilmar Marti, 28, a Dutch lesbian, were held after police and immigration officers jumped out of the vestry.

The priest, Tim Codling, had become suspicious over paperwork at St John’s Church in Tilbury, Essex, last year. Marti is believed to have beeen promised £2,000 for her role. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy at Basildon Crown Court this week. Ugandan Abdallah Magezi, 36, of Plumstead, south-east London, was jailed for three years last month for fixing the sham marriage.